Green in neighbourhoods: planning a seed for the future The role of spatial planning in nature provision for children in neighbourhood project development MSc Thesis Spatial Planning Roel Visser Wageningen University & Research “Children are a kind of indicator species. If we can build a successful city for children, we will have a successful city for all people.” - Enrique Peñalosa, former mayor of Bogotá Colofon Title Green in neighbourhoods: planning a seed for the future The role of spatial planning in nature provision for children in neighbourhood project development Author Roel Visser 940118-894-130 [email protected] Study Landscape Architecture and Spatial Planning Specialisation: Spatial Planning Wageningen University Course Master Thesis, 36 ECTS LUP-80436 Examination Supervisor: dr. AR (Arend) Jonkman Second reviewer: dr.ir. WGM (Wim) van der Knaap Examiner: dr. MM (Martha) Bakker Date March 20, 2020 Wageningen, Netherlands Source image front page: https://applelogs.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/brookfield_climb_trees.jpg Table of contents Table of contents ..................................................................................................................................... 2 Preface ..................................................................................................................................................... 4 Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 5 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 6 1.1 Background ................................................................................................................................... 6 1.2 Scope ............................................................................................................................................. 8 1.3 Relevance and problem statement ............................................................................................... 12 1.4 Research objective and research question ................................................................................... 13 1.5 Reading guide .............................................................................................................................. 15 2. Theoretical framework ...................................................................................................................... 16 2.1 Children’s interests ...................................................................................................................... 17 2.2 Ecosystem services and children ................................................................................................. 20 2.3 Project development and environmental justice .......................................................................... 22 2.4 Conceptual framework ................................................................................................................ 26 3. Methodology ..................................................................................................................................... 27 3.1 Research strategy ......................................................................................................................... 27 3.2 Specific research questions.......................................................................................................... 29 3.3 Case selection .............................................................................................................................. 31 3.4 Data collection and analysis ........................................................................................................ 36 4. Results ............................................................................................................................................... 41 4.1 Ede / ENKA................................................................................................................................. 42 4.2 Harderwijk / Waterfront .............................................................................................................. 58 5. Discussion ......................................................................................................................................... 75 6. Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 77 2 6.1 How are ecosystem services as a children’s interest integrated into municipal policymaking and policies related to children? ............................................................................................................... 77 6.2 How are ecosystem services and children viewed in the process of neighbourhood planning? . 81 6.3 How environmentally just is the spatial planning process of urban green areas for children in neighbourhoods? ............................................................................................................................... 84 6.4 What is the influence of the spatial planning process of neighbourhood project development in the Netherlands on the provision of ecosystem services for children? .............................................. 88 7. Reflection .......................................................................................................................................... 90 7.1 Critical reflection ......................................................................................................................... 90 7.2 Recommendations for further research ....................................................................................... 91 Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................... 92 Appendix I: Documents analysed .......................................................................................................... 97 Appendix II: Interviewees ..................................................................................................................... 98 Appendix III: Interview protocol........................................................................................................... 99 3 Preface In my childhood memories, the most fun play spaces were those that were not meant for playing. Those places where we should not go – climbing over fences, playing on construction sites – and, moreover; green spaces, like the forest or the bushes next to the schoolyard. Rarely did play happen in traditional playground settings, and if it did it was not particularly memorable – or at least not to my scattered reminiscence. The traditional playgrounds, to me, mostly seemed dull and this was especially underlined when I took up skateboarding; designated skate parks were often boring and seemed bureaucratically planned without much knowledge of what was actually needed. I tend to believe that this dissatisfaction with provision of children’s – then: my – facilities sparked an interest and led to my decision to commence my studies in landscape architecture and spatial planning. During this study, I discovered a range of topics that also appealed to me, but still kept this interest in children’s space in the back of my mind. When it was time to write my thesis it resurfaced and I made it my incentive to conduct my research on this topic. After an extensive preliminary investigation on which topic specifically would suit my objective, and would do so from a spatial planning perspective – the master track I had chosen – the subject of green provision on neighbourhood level emerged. Before this research I knew little about this topic, but over time I have become much more knowledgeable. Because of my enthusiasm, it was difficult for me to stay on track and not digress towards related aspects outside of the scope of this thesis. Still, I managed to finalize this study and I am very happy with the result which lies in front of you today. Arriving at this final report would not have been possible without the help of the interviewees who were willing to cooperate and share their knowledge in this study, for which I would like to thank them. Secondly, I thank my supervisor, Arend Jonkman, for his guidance and feedback whenever it was needed. His insights – delivered with a calm, supportive demeanour – and personal interest in the topic helped me a lot in progressing with this research; yet, still letting me do it in my own way. Next, I would like to thank my parents and sisters for their interest and concern for this thesis and me personally; going home every now and then gave me the required rest and motivation to freshly get back into it. Also, I want to thank the Tarrèls for providing support, tips and – moreover – needed breaks, familyballs and dinners. Last but not least, thank you Lydia for existing and supporting me in any way you did. I hope you enjoy reading this document as much as I enjoyed working on it. Roel 4 Abstract This thesis is about child-friendly green space in urban new residential neighbourhoods and the way in which this is considered in the spatial planning process. The motivation for this research is the fact that children’s outside play is decreasing and the associated decline of contact with nature amongst children; especially prevalent in urban areas. Research shows that both these phenomena have